SEC Championship Game was college football's most-watched game this season so far

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Alabama's dramatic SEC Championship Game victory over Georgia produced a 9.8 rating with 16.2 million viewers, giving CBS the most-watched college football game this season so far.

"It lived up to all of our expectations and delivered once again for everyone -- for the SEC and for CBS," CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said in an interview today.

Viewership fell slightly short of the SEC title games between Alabama and Florida in 2008 and 2009, which were the last years the SEC championship was also a de facto national semifinal. The highest rating for an SEC Championship Game remains an 11.1 in 2009.

On average, 73 percent of Birmingham-area households that had their television turned on watched Alabama-Georgia on CBS 42, according to overnight ratings released earlier this week. Eight out of every 10 TVs in the Birmingham market that were turned on tuned in during the game's peak.

The SEC's strong finish Saturday allowed CBS to average a 3.9 rating for the season, finishing as the No. 1 regular-season college football package for the fourth straight year. The SEC's CBS ratings declined 7 percent from last year and were the lowest since 2008.

"You have to remember, we set the bar so high in the last five or six years," McManus said. "We were a little bit off from the incredible season we had last year. We got some good breaks in the second-to-last week of the season with some other high-profile teams (in other conferences) being upset."

The SEC remains in negotiations with ESPN and CBS to increase the value of its media rights since adding Texas A&M and Missouri. Those talks include the likelihood of an SEC television network with ESPN.

McManus said CBS is having "very positive discussions" with the SEC that are headed in the right direction.

CBS's deal with the SEC, negotiated in 2008, pays the SEC an average of $55 million over 15 years, according to the SportsBusiness Journal. The publication reported in May that CBS was balking at any significant pay increase because adding Missouri and Texas A&M did not change the deal.

"The relationship is really good," McManus said today. "We're talking about exchanging value and I think we'll figure out a way to satisfy what it is the SEC needs and what it is we need. There's no doubt we're going to come to an accommodation."

McManus said CBS currently can't add more SEC games, although that could change because of discussions to alter the U.S. Open tennis schedule. CBS airs the U.S. Open in early September before kicking off its SEC coverage the following week.

Viewership for CBS is usually driven by a team's national ranking, McManus said. After that, he said Florida, Alabama, Georgia and LSU have "enormous" national appeal, Texas A&M has become a "very attractive" national team and South Carolina is appealing, too.

Texas A&M, a surprising top-10 team, made only one appearance on CBS -- a victory over then-No. 1 Alabama. That game drew the network's third-highest viewership behind Alabama-Georgia and Alabama-LSU.

"Obviously, bringing in fans from a state as large and populous as Texas can only help," McManus said. "Especially when they have a player (Johnny Manziel) as dynamic and as nationally recognizable as there is with one of the great nicknames in all of football (Johnny Football). What's true about about any sport, including the SEC, is you never know where the big story is going to come from."

On the other hand, Missouri appeared twice on CBS in blowout losses to South Carolina and Alabama. Neither game drew higher than a 2.5.

"I think (Missouri's) value will be determined by how competitive they are on the football field," McManus said. "At the moment, obviously, they're not a big television draw with respect to football. They can earn that in the future, but they have to earn that at some point."

The SEC Championship Game offered a rare break in recent seasons from uncompetitive CBS broadcasts. Eighteen of the past 31 SEC games on CBS have been decided by 21 points or more.

"We look at the schedule each week and try to pick not only the highest-profile games, but also the most competitive, and it's a delicate balance," McManus said. "Generally speaking, a closer game that might not have a marquee matchup is a better selection than a game featuring more marquee value."

As conferences continue to realign at a frantic pace across the country, McManus said CBS feels secure at the moment in its relationship with the SEC.

"I think there's probably a few more dominoes to fall," McManus said of realignment in college sports. "You make sure whatever television properties you own stay healthy from a business standpoint.

"We were more comfortable when there was less (TV) competition, less movement, more traditional rivalries remained intact, and more conferences were based on geography. But it's a fact of life. Life goes on. It's all done for relatively good business reasons."